KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- After a City Council meeting Thursday, the question of a recount of recall signatures is still undecided.

On Thursday afternoon, members of the group attempting to oust Kansas City Mayor Mark Funkhouser hired an attorney and said they will go to court if they need to in order to get a recount. They are asking for a recount of signatures after the city clerk ruled they had come up 129 signatures short.

The council was scheduled to meet at noon on Thursday with the Kansas City Election Board to discuss a possible recount, but the meeting was canceled at the last minute after City Clerk Vicki Thompson sent the Election Board an e-mail saying she is now against a recount.

Members of the recall group said that with the signature tally so close to the required number, it's not right to deny them a recount.

"There's a lot of ways human error can be involved in the process of verifying voter signatures, and if that possibility exists, we ought to do a recount," said Anne McGregor, a member of the recall effort.

Thompson said election boards in Clay and Platte counties refused to conduct recounts unless ordered by a court.

Election officials in the two counties confirmed their position. They said they found nothing in the governing rules that authorizes them to recount recall signatures.

Recall committee spokesman Harris Wilder said he thinks legal action might be the only way for petitioners to get a recount.